Pyrus - a man-made wood that is meant to combat deforestation. (Credit: Symmetrywood.com)
James Dyson Award winner Gabe Tavas and his team aim to combat deforestation by replacing exotic woods that are disappearing from rainforests such as the Amazon. Pyrus is a wood-like material that is made from repurposed bacterial cellulose coming from the kombucha industry. It mimics the cellulose that you can find in trees. Except since it's grown from bacteria, there is no pressure put on trees in order to harvest it. Pyrus is a waste product that grows as a sheet of cellulose over several days at the top of a tank. “It feeds well off of any substance that has glucose (or sugar) in it. Coincidentally, the most wasted food groups — fruits, breads, and vegetables — have a lot of this.” No petroleum, toxins, or other non-biodegradable additives are combined with the cellulose. Maintaining the versatility of wood, Pyrus can be laser cut, CNC machined, and sanded to a smooth finish.
Pyrus: Sustainable wood alternative. US 2021 James Dyson Award winner.
